ALL IOWA SPORTS AWARDS

Meet the 2018 All-Iowa Wrestler of the Year Finalists

Cody Goodwin
The Des Moines Register

The All-Iowa Wrestler of the Year will be announced at the Des Moines Register Sports Awards on June 24. The winner is selected by the All-Iowa committee of the Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen sports staffers, with the help of top high school sports experts around the state. 

Fort DodgeÕs Brody Teske wrestles Kaleb Olejniczak of Perry during their class 3A 126 pound championship match at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, in Des Moines. Teske would go on to win his fourth state title with a pin.

 

Here are the three finalists from the 2017-18 Iowa high school wrestling season.

Joel Shapiro

Senior | 182 pounds | West Des Moines Valley

West Des Moines Valley's Joel Shapiro wrestles Glenwood's Anthony Sherry during the quarterfinals of the Iowa high school state wrestling championship on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, in Wells Fargo Arena.

Shapiro turned in arguably the most-dominant campaign by any individual wrestler this season. The Valley senior went 43-0 en route to the 182-pound state championship in Class 3A. Shapiro finished his Tiger career with 174 victories and two state titles.

During his final prep season, Shapiro recorded 37 victories by fall and another three by technical fall. Even more impressive, the Iowa State signee allowed just six points, all by way of escapes, and didn’t allow his first point until mid-January.

“I really don’t think about it too much,” Shapiro told the Register earlier this year. “I just go out and try to score points, get some nearfalls and tilts on top. If I get the fall, I get the fall. I just try to dominate the match.”

Brody Teske

Senior | 126 pounds | Fort Dodge

Fort Dodge's Brody Teske celebrates a tech fall over Joe Pins of Dubuque Hempstead during their 126 lb 3A semi-final round at the state wrestling championships on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, in Des Moines.

Teske became the 26th Iowa prep wrestler to win four state championships when he won the 126-pound title in Class 3A in February. The Penn State-bound senior went 42-1 this season with 29 pins and nine technical falls.

For his career, Teske finished 177-1, racking up 101 pins, 34 technical falls and just one loss — to Underwood’s Alex Thomsen, a fellow four-timer. Ranked seventh nationally by Intermat at 126, Teske was the face of a Fort Dodge team that won its first team state title since 1985.

“Going up on the podium and having everybody clap — that's awesome,” Teske said in February. “Every ounce of hard work and sweat and tears — every emotion, it's all right there.”

Alex Thomsen

Senior | 126 pounds | Underwood

Alex Thomsen of Underwood wins the state championship at 126 pounds against Cobe Siebrecht of Lisbon in Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018.

Thomsen became the 27th Iowa prep wrestler to win four state championships when he won the 126-pound title in Class 1A in February. The Nebraska-bound senior went 51-1 this season with at least 27 technical falls and another 10 victories by pin.

For his career, Thomsen finished 190-1, racking up more than 91 technical falls, as many as 49 pins and just one loss — to Fort Dodge’s Brody Teske, a fellow four-timer. Ranked sixth nationally by Intermat at 126, Thomsen scored 87 total match points at the state tournament, more than any individual wrestler, regardless of class.

“Obviously, our matches against each other are going to be remembered for a long time,” Thomsen said in February. “I just hope we're remembered as kids who put in a lot of hard work and we did everything the right way. We didn't take any shortcuts.”

Tennis icon Venus Williams headlines the 2018 Des Moines Register Sports Awards.

Des Moines Register Sports Awards

The Des Moines Register Sports Awards recognizes and honors top athletes from across the state of Iowa in 21 sports. This event is hosted by the Des Moines Register and will take place June 23, 2018 at Wells Fargo Arena. The show features various awards, contests and a special appearance from Venus Williams.

  • Ticket info: General admission tickets are now on sale for the Des Moines Register Sports Awards. Purchase your tickets at SportsAwards.DesMoinesRegister.com. 
  • Athletes: Each honored athlete will receive one complementary ticket. Athletes will be contacted by their athletic director or coach with details on how to RSVP for the event. 
  • General admission: Public tickets are now on sale for the event. Individual tickets are $35 plus service fees and a family four-pack ticket is $112 plus service fees.
  • Student ticket price: $25 plus service fees. Limited two per order. Use promo code STUDENT at checkout. 
  • Merchandise: Sports Awards T-shirts, tank tops and more are on sale now at ShopDMRegister.com/SportsAwards.
  • Hotel: Discounted hotel rooms are available at the Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel. Book at http://dmreg.co/SAHotel or call 1-800-514-4706 and ask for the “Des Moines Register All Iowa Sports Awards group block.”

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.